5 Questions With Canadian Designer Matthew Gallagher

Canadian designer Matthew Gallagher owes a great deal of his aesthetic to the time he spent training in Italy. There, even trips to the grocery store were occasion enough to dress your best and that impact spills over into his current collection. Gallagher’s designs are sophisticated and cater to the woman who wants to look and feel pulled together no matter what she’s got in her iCalendar.

In light of the changing retail climate, Gallagher is the latest designer to embrace the see-now-buy-now business model. With shorter delivery times and a closer connection to his clients, he’s aiming to grow his made-to-measure business with in-season sales. And with beautifully structured silk dresses, slinky velvet pants and marabou feather-trimmed tops rounding out this latest collection that shouldn’t be a tough task.

We spoke with Gallagher, and unveil his new collection below for all to enjoy.

Why did you choose the pale pastel palette?
I was thinking of the paintings by James Tissot, Auguste Toulmouche and Alfred Stevens. I imagined their age and the natural way paintings fade over time and from that I was inspired to mix pale colours with rich colours such as the navy velvet to show the progression from saturated to desaturated colour.

Tell me about your fabrics.
I chose fabrics from the paintings. Rich textiles such as silk taffeta, velvet, silk and applying marabou feathers as you would fur on certain pieces.

Were there any specific references for the shoot? How did you dream up the concept?
When it comes to styling for the brand, I work with Stef McLean as she has a great eye for putting looks together for the shoot. We brainstormed inspirations for the set and concept together. For the set design, we looked to the paintings for the rich settings and backgrounds in the women’s portraits.

Which piece was the most difficult to create?
All of the feather trims are hand sewn on the pieces so those looks are definitely the most time consuming to create.

Who is your dream customer?
Three of my ideal customers are Cate Blanchett, Diane Kruger and Giovanna Battaglia.

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